photovoltaics

Canada-based Giyani Metals is planning to build a solar plant for its manganese mining site in Botswana. Three kinds of projects, with capacities ranging from 14 to 60 MW, are being considered. The power generated by the facility may be either consumed entirely by the mine or also sold to the grid under different scenarios.

The 452 kWp array features 1,300 photovoltaic panels across an acre of water split between two artificial lakes at the airport golf course.

Developers have already connected 3 MW of capacity in what is purportedly destined to be the world’s largest PV array on a coastal tidal flat. The project, which is particularly challenging due to tidal fluctuations, will feature PV components designed to cope with salt and water damage.

Tennessee-based Shoals Technologies has balance-of-systems solutions deployed on more than 20 GW of solar energy systems throughout the world.

Longi and Risen both announced plans to build up new module and cell manufacturing capacity. Furthermore, the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has revealed it deployed more than 10 GW of solar power last year.

A recent ruling of the Belgian constitutional court has canceled the 15-year grace period granted to residential PV system owners to keep operating under net metering despite the arrival of smart meters. The Flemish government said it will provide some compensation for the financial losses that this decision will cause.

The Indonesian government has announced the construction of a big PV plant in the eastern part of the country, explaining that the region is particularly suitable for solar development due to its dry climate and high solar radiation levels. The region is indeed the most suitable area for solar parks, due to land availability and high electricity generation costs.

Scientists in Spain and Colombia took a closer look at the degradation mechanisms affecting perovskite solar cells, and developed a new, high throughput method to characterize their performance in an outdoor setting. The group evaluated the method through outdoor testing on perovskite modules manufactured in a lab. it expects its findings to offer easier device characterization and better understanding of the degradation mechanisms affecting perovskite solar cells, both important factors in the technology’s development.

French oil and gas giant Total already owns a stake in developer Adani Green Energy’s 2.3 GW of operational solar assets in India through a joint venture.

Last year was the time for mega-solar projects to strike record low prices – $0.0135/kWh in Abu Dhabi for the unimaginably vast 2 GW Al Dhafra project. Not to be left behind, some Australian project developers are pursuing equally grand plans, with clean-tech guru Michael Liebreich saying that their likelihood for success will lie in what the proponents plan to do with the vast amount of clean, cheap energy.